Last post I said:
"There is the historical level of meaning. At a minimum, every verse has a historical meaning because all of the Bible was dictated by God and recorded as part of the Bible at some point in space and time. Additionally, on those occasions when the Bible makes a fuller statement of history, the Bible does so infallibly."
Every verse also has a moral dimension. At a minimum, that moral for life on this earth is that the Bible is to be obeyed, read, heard, meditated upon, and studied as much as possible.
" My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments: For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee." Proverbs 3:1-2
So also every verse of Scripture has a spiritual dimension; that is, every verse of the Bible has something to do with the spiritual realm. This can be seen in the fact that the Bible did not originate in the physical realm. The Bible did not originate in the earth, or in the minds of men. The Bible came from God, who is spirit.
"All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works." 2 Timothy 3:16-17
"The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John: Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw." Revelation 1:1-2
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Sunday, November 02, 2008
The "Fall" is not a Misnomer: Yet Another Proof
I was studying Romans 5 today, and a close look at Romans 5:18 reminded me about all that nonsense some weeks ago in an internet forum about Adam being created subject to the wrath of God; and that being the case, Adam did not "fall".
Romans 5:18 reads, "Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life."
The greek word underlying "offence" is very revealing. This is the greek word, "paraptoma" [Strongs 3900] which literally rendered means "a fall aside". This is the noun form of the greek verb, "parapipto" [Strongs #3895]which literally means "to fall aside". Hebrews 6:6 renders parapipto [3895] as "fall away" which is close, but "fall aside" is more accurate.
paraptoma [3900] is rendered numerous times as "trespass". "Trespass", whose core meaning has to do with the ideas of overstepping or unlawful infingement, is not a bad translation of paraptoma but it does not completely capture the essence of the meaning of the word. A number of times 3900 is rendered "offence", and it is occasionally translated "fault". All of these renderings are more metaphorical.
In Romans 11, though, we get some clarity. Verses 11 and 12 read,
"I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall [pipto (without the prefix para) Strongs #4098]? God forbid: but rather through their fall [paraptoma, Strongs # 3900] salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy. Now if the fall [paraptoma, Strongs # 3900]of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles; how much more their fulness?"
Here, the noun paraptoma is paired with its core root verb pipto which means "fall". Thus there can be no mistake that God in Romans 5:18 describes Adam's sin of eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the garden as a "fall". Thus, saying the "Fall of Adam is a misnomer" is unbiblical.
Romans 5:18 reads, "Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life."
The greek word underlying "offence" is very revealing. This is the greek word, "paraptoma" [Strongs 3900] which literally rendered means "a fall aside". This is the noun form of the greek verb, "parapipto" [Strongs #3895]which literally means "to fall aside". Hebrews 6:6 renders parapipto [3895] as "fall away" which is close, but "fall aside" is more accurate.
paraptoma [3900] is rendered numerous times as "trespass". "Trespass", whose core meaning has to do with the ideas of overstepping or unlawful infingement, is not a bad translation of paraptoma but it does not completely capture the essence of the meaning of the word. A number of times 3900 is rendered "offence", and it is occasionally translated "fault". All of these renderings are more metaphorical.
In Romans 11, though, we get some clarity. Verses 11 and 12 read,
"I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall [pipto (without the prefix para) Strongs #4098]? God forbid: but rather through their fall [paraptoma, Strongs # 3900] salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy. Now if the fall [paraptoma, Strongs # 3900]of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles; how much more their fulness?"
Here, the noun paraptoma is paired with its core root verb pipto which means "fall". Thus there can be no mistake that God in Romans 5:18 describes Adam's sin of eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the garden as a "fall". Thus, saying the "Fall of Adam is a misnomer" is unbiblical.
Sunday, September 07, 2008
Two passages on the Understanding the Word ...
. . . (or Lack Thereof)
In Isaiah 28 God declares that the understanding of the doctrines of the Word of God is given to "them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts". That is, God gives much fuller understanding of His word to those whose sole authority is the Word of God, and who do not have the co-authorities of human ideas such as creeds, confessions, or any ideas from the minds of mortal men.
Isaiah 28 teaches that the doctrines of the Bible are sprinkled throughout the Bible, "here a little, there a little". God further explains in the chapter that the reason God wrote the Bible the way He did insofar as the non-elect unsaved are concerned is that "they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken." (Isaiah 28:13).
Incidentally, I used to be pursuaded that Isaiah 28:11 referred to the sinful practice of speaking in tongues. I am not so pursuaded of that now, because the verse says "with another tongue will HE speak to this people." We know from Revelation 22:18-19 that when someone is speaking in tongues at any time after the Bible was completed, it is NOT God speaking. When someone speaks in tongues nowadays, it is possibly just the person themselves faking it and speaking out of their own deceived mind. It is also possibly Satan himself or one of Satan's evil spirits acting as a "lying spirit" in the mouth of the one speaking in tongues (1 Kings 22:19-23). But in any case the act of speaking in tongues is NOT God speaking.
But Isaiah 28:11 refers to God speaking to the people. I therefore believe that Isaiah 28:11 refers to how God speaks through the Bible. To the unsaved it is as if God is speaking in gibberish, since the unsaved do not come to a saving understanding of the Word of God. Instead, the Word of God plunges them further and further into error, resulting in their coming under the full wrath of God.
1 Corinthians 2 is related to Isaiah 28 inasmuch as this chapter is concerned with how the Word of God is savingly understood. 1 Corinthians 2:13 declares that the Word of God is given through prophets such as Paul "comparing spiritual things [words] with spiritual." Thus since the Word is given in comparative fashion ("here a little, there a little"), it is understood in this fashion as well. This is why we go through the mechanical process of turning from one part of the Bible to another to another as we search out a doctrine. This is not to say that this mechanical process is deterministic for anyone who employs it. The unsaved can use all the concordances and Biblical Greek/Hebrew computer programs they want, but they will still not come to a saving understanding of the Bible. They still end up under judgment, even thought they might attain to a significant intellectual head-knowledge of the Bible.
May each of us have the unsderstanding that is imparted by the "mind of Christ" (1 Corinthians 2:16), for truly this is a great and wonderful expression of the love of God to us.
In Isaiah 28 God declares that the understanding of the doctrines of the Word of God is given to "them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts". That is, God gives much fuller understanding of His word to those whose sole authority is the Word of God, and who do not have the co-authorities of human ideas such as creeds, confessions, or any ideas from the minds of mortal men.
Isaiah 28 teaches that the doctrines of the Bible are sprinkled throughout the Bible, "here a little, there a little". God further explains in the chapter that the reason God wrote the Bible the way He did insofar as the non-elect unsaved are concerned is that "they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken." (Isaiah 28:13).
Incidentally, I used to be pursuaded that Isaiah 28:11 referred to the sinful practice of speaking in tongues. I am not so pursuaded of that now, because the verse says "with another tongue will HE speak to this people." We know from Revelation 22:18-19 that when someone is speaking in tongues at any time after the Bible was completed, it is NOT God speaking. When someone speaks in tongues nowadays, it is possibly just the person themselves faking it and speaking out of their own deceived mind. It is also possibly Satan himself or one of Satan's evil spirits acting as a "lying spirit" in the mouth of the one speaking in tongues (1 Kings 22:19-23). But in any case the act of speaking in tongues is NOT God speaking.
But Isaiah 28:11 refers to God speaking to the people. I therefore believe that Isaiah 28:11 refers to how God speaks through the Bible. To the unsaved it is as if God is speaking in gibberish, since the unsaved do not come to a saving understanding of the Word of God. Instead, the Word of God plunges them further and further into error, resulting in their coming under the full wrath of God.
1 Corinthians 2 is related to Isaiah 28 inasmuch as this chapter is concerned with how the Word of God is savingly understood. 1 Corinthians 2:13 declares that the Word of God is given through prophets such as Paul "comparing spiritual things [words] with spiritual." Thus since the Word is given in comparative fashion ("here a little, there a little"), it is understood in this fashion as well. This is why we go through the mechanical process of turning from one part of the Bible to another to another as we search out a doctrine. This is not to say that this mechanical process is deterministic for anyone who employs it. The unsaved can use all the concordances and Biblical Greek/Hebrew computer programs they want, but they will still not come to a saving understanding of the Bible. They still end up under judgment, even thought they might attain to a significant intellectual head-knowledge of the Bible.
May each of us have the unsderstanding that is imparted by the "mind of Christ" (1 Corinthians 2:16), for truly this is a great and wonderful expression of the love of God to us.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Of Note in John 21:6
"And he said unto them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes."
We see here an unnumbered "multitude" of fishes. This is the latter rain "multitude" which no man can number. True, the number 153 comes out once they get to shore, but that is only once they get to shore, which likely is a picture of heaven at the end of time, when the true exact number of believers will finally be revealed.
One other curious thing, though. The verse says "and *now* they were not able to draw". What does this mean? God does the drawing, does He not? After all, we read in John 6:44, "No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. "
So what does the "now" mean in John 21:6? Well, I do not think it implies that prior to that the discples were, in themselves, able to draw anyone to salvation. There are thus two possibilities I can think of. One, the word "now" draws our attention to the concept of *time*. Prophetically the passsage points to the Latter Rain era, which, of course is an era of time. Another possibility is that in the church age, given the churches' visible structure and given the fact that the visible and invible churches were then so intertwined, there was the *appearance* in the church age of believers doing the drawing. It could be that God is calling our attention to the fact that believers never were the ones doing the drawing despite the outward appearance of doing so that the church exhibited.
This latter possibility is given some weight when we consider the presence of Christ on the shore. He, after all, was the one who instructed the disciples to cast off the right side of the ship. And then, once Christ was explicitly recognized, His presence drew everyone to shore, as emphasized by Peter's jumping into the water.
Well, there are probably a good number of readers out there who know this passage a lot better than I do. As always, I welcome input and correction from the Bible.
We see here an unnumbered "multitude" of fishes. This is the latter rain "multitude" which no man can number. True, the number 153 comes out once they get to shore, but that is only once they get to shore, which likely is a picture of heaven at the end of time, when the true exact number of believers will finally be revealed.
One other curious thing, though. The verse says "and *now* they were not able to draw". What does this mean? God does the drawing, does He not? After all, we read in John 6:44, "No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. "
So what does the "now" mean in John 21:6? Well, I do not think it implies that prior to that the discples were, in themselves, able to draw anyone to salvation. There are thus two possibilities I can think of. One, the word "now" draws our attention to the concept of *time*. Prophetically the passsage points to the Latter Rain era, which, of course is an era of time. Another possibility is that in the church age, given the churches' visible structure and given the fact that the visible and invible churches were then so intertwined, there was the *appearance* in the church age of believers doing the drawing. It could be that God is calling our attention to the fact that believers never were the ones doing the drawing despite the outward appearance of doing so that the church exhibited.
This latter possibility is given some weight when we consider the presence of Christ on the shore. He, after all, was the one who instructed the disciples to cast off the right side of the ship. And then, once Christ was explicitly recognized, His presence drew everyone to shore, as emphasized by Peter's jumping into the water.
Well, there are probably a good number of readers out there who know this passage a lot better than I do. As always, I welcome input and correction from the Bible.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
John 21:1-6
For a long time I have found this passage curious. I have understood for some time now the reference to ploirarion (Strongs 4142) in verse 8 to refer to the believers outside the churches after the end of the church age.
But I have long puzzled about the reference to "the right side of the ship" back in verse 6. This is a slightly different greek work, ploion (Strongs #4143), in the Bible is used as a figure of the visible church in the church age. Yet, here in John 21:6 the disciples are commanded to cast their nets of the right side of the ploion (4143), and they ensnared a great number of fish.
How could it be that the visible church is somehow involved in a latter rain evangelistic haul?
The key is the phrase "right side", I believe. The word "right" has to do with the Lord Jesus Christ. Thus the "right side of the ship" means that the Bible is now focusing on the *invisible* church. This reference provides the transition between the end of the church age, or the "night" in which the disciples caught no fish from the visible church (ploion (4143)), and latter rain, pointed to by "the morning", in which the "little ship" (ploirarion (4142)) enabled the catch to be brought ashore.
But I have long puzzled about the reference to "the right side of the ship" back in verse 6. This is a slightly different greek work, ploion (Strongs #4143), in the Bible is used as a figure of the visible church in the church age. Yet, here in John 21:6 the disciples are commanded to cast their nets of the right side of the ploion (4143), and they ensnared a great number of fish.
How could it be that the visible church is somehow involved in a latter rain evangelistic haul?
The key is the phrase "right side", I believe. The word "right" has to do with the Lord Jesus Christ. Thus the "right side of the ship" means that the Bible is now focusing on the *invisible* church. This reference provides the transition between the end of the church age, or the "night" in which the disciples caught no fish from the visible church (ploion (4143)), and latter rain, pointed to by "the morning", in which the "little ship" (ploirarion (4142)) enabled the catch to be brought ashore.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Getting Your Feet Wet with New Testament Greek
I happened to run across this, which I believe is the same Beginning Greek Grammar study book I used in my first semester of New Testament greek when I went to college five thousand years ago. If memory serves through these millennia, the book is quite good, though it is not unaffected by secular influences.
It is well suited to self study, if you are so inclined. If you need help, as they say here in the south, just holler.
It is well suited to self study, if you are so inclined. If you need help, as they say here in the south, just holler.
Some observations on Revelation 20:10
"And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake
of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet [are],
and [they] shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever."
The KJV is not completely clear on who it is who is tormented. Is it the devil, or is it the devil, the beast, and the false prophet? The particple "tormented" in the greek is the future indicative passive, third person plural. Thus the devil, the beast, and false prophet (Satan and unsaved men) are all in view as subject to the torment.
The phrase "for ever and ever" is not as simple as it might seem. If you consult your interlinear, you will see that this phrase is translated from the greek
eis tous aionas ton aionon
which is literally rendered,
"into the ages of the ages"
Now, the phrase "the ages of the ages" in the New Testament is a figure for eternity, that is, beyond the end of time. A quick check of your concordance software will confirm that.
The question now is, when the Bible talks about "INTO the ages of the ages", or to paraphrase, "INTO" eternity, how are we to understand the "INTO"? Does this mean "into and throughtout eternity", or does it mean, "into (right up against) the starting point of eternity, but not throughout eternity"?
Let me explain in english. In english, I can say
"I dived into the water"
We understand that to mean that I not only dived and came into contact with the surface of the water, but I in fact entered into the depth of the water.
However, if I say, "I ran into a brick wall", we correctly do not understand this to mean that I collided with the brick wall such that I penetrated the surface of the brick wall and ended up inside or through it.
The greek word, "into" in the New Testament works the same way. Depending on the context, it can mean "into and throughor throughout" OR it can mean "into (right up against) the starting point or edge of something but not inside of or through the thing itself".
Here are some examples:
"And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him:" Matthew 2:11
We understand correctly that they entered into the inside of the house. They did not just smack into the outer wall of the house and stop.
On the other hand,
"And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven,
but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner." Luke 18:13
"smote upon" is actually "smote into". Now in the historical context when the man smote himself, his hands did not penetrate and enter into his chest cavity, his hands struck the surface of his breast. Yet the Bible speaks of him smiting "into" his breast. Thus here is a use of the greek preposition "into" that refers to reaching a point, but not reaching a point and entering into that which lies beyond the point.
Thus, I have to admit that, looking carefully and strictly at the biblical grammar of Revelation 20:10, this verse could refer to a temporal torment that ends at but does not include eternity. I have to admit this is something I did not expect to find.
of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet [are],
and [they] shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever."
The KJV is not completely clear on who it is who is tormented. Is it the devil, or is it the devil, the beast, and the false prophet? The particple "tormented" in the greek is the future indicative passive, third person plural. Thus the devil, the beast, and false prophet (Satan and unsaved men) are all in view as subject to the torment.
The phrase "for ever and ever" is not as simple as it might seem. If you consult your interlinear, you will see that this phrase is translated from the greek
eis tous aionas ton aionon
which is literally rendered,
"into the ages of the ages"
Now, the phrase "the ages of the ages" in the New Testament is a figure for eternity, that is, beyond the end of time. A quick check of your concordance software will confirm that.
The question now is, when the Bible talks about "INTO the ages of the ages", or to paraphrase, "INTO" eternity, how are we to understand the "INTO"? Does this mean "into and throughtout eternity", or does it mean, "into (right up against) the starting point of eternity, but not throughout eternity"?
Let me explain in english. In english, I can say
"I dived into the water"
We understand that to mean that I not only dived and came into contact with the surface of the water, but I in fact entered into the depth of the water.
However, if I say, "I ran into a brick wall", we correctly do not understand this to mean that I collided with the brick wall such that I penetrated the surface of the brick wall and ended up inside or through it.
The greek word, "into" in the New Testament works the same way. Depending on the context, it can mean "into and throughor throughout" OR it can mean "into (right up against) the starting point or edge of something but not inside of or through the thing itself".
Here are some examples:
"And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him:" Matthew 2:11
We understand correctly that they entered into the inside of the house. They did not just smack into the outer wall of the house and stop.
On the other hand,
"And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven,
but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner." Luke 18:13
"smote upon" is actually "smote into". Now in the historical context when the man smote himself, his hands did not penetrate and enter into his chest cavity, his hands struck the surface of his breast. Yet the Bible speaks of him smiting "into" his breast. Thus here is a use of the greek preposition "into" that refers to reaching a point, but not reaching a point and entering into that which lies beyond the point.
Thus, I have to admit that, looking carefully and strictly at the biblical grammar of Revelation 20:10, this verse could refer to a temporal torment that ends at but does not include eternity. I have to admit this is something I did not expect to find.
One of the Great Joys of my Life
is Sunday morning worship at home with my family. This morning we gathered in the den and sang from Psalm 29, Psam 90, and Psalm 145. The tunes were Effingham (one of our all-time favorites), Farrant, and Duke Street.
These Psalm selections spoke richly of the glory of God, and the duty of the believer to scribe that glory to him. They also contrasted vividly the eternal destinies of the two kinds of people in the world, the saved and the unsaved. The saved face aa joyous eternity with God himself, while the unsaved face the wrath and perdition of God their Judge.
I read from Genesis 1, adding frequent but brief comments directed primarily at my very young children, trying to remiond them and/or help them understand for the first time that they were created by God, and the world they live in was created by God.
I also read revelation 20, which speaks, among other things, of the end of all things. The beginning of all things (Genesis 1) and the end of all things (Revelation 20) comprised the subject of my remarks. We concluded withy prayer.
These Psalm selections spoke richly of the glory of God, and the duty of the believer to scribe that glory to him. They also contrasted vividly the eternal destinies of the two kinds of people in the world, the saved and the unsaved. The saved face aa joyous eternity with God himself, while the unsaved face the wrath and perdition of God their Judge.
I read from Genesis 1, adding frequent but brief comments directed primarily at my very young children, trying to remiond them and/or help them understand for the first time that they were created by God, and the world they live in was created by God.
I also read revelation 20, which speaks, among other things, of the end of all things. The beginning of all things (Genesis 1) and the end of all things (Revelation 20) comprised the subject of my remarks. We concluded withy prayer.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Left in the Dust...
By God's mercy, I am recovering from a back injury which had me bedridden last month for the better part of two weeks.
I am delighted to be to the point where I can take short, slow walks. On my most recent walk I thought my two year old daughter would be the perfect walking companion. She'll have no trouble keeping up, I thought.
It turned out I was the one having trouble keeping up. :-P
Having been in bed so much I have thought a lot about those bedridden folks who were privileged to have found themselves in the path of Christ the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.
We find one such example in Matthew 9.
" 1 And he entered into a ship, and passed over, and came into his own city. 2 And, behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy; Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee. 3 And, behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves, This man blasphemeth. 4 And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts? 5 For whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk? 6 But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house. 7 And he arose, and departed to his house. 8 But when the multitudes saw it, they marvelled, and glorified God, which had given such power unto men."
What a beautiful account of the saving power of the Gospel. Christ pronounces the crippled man's sins forgiven. As a confirming proof of His ability to forgive sins, Christ spoke and made the man physically whole, ordering him to "arise, take up thy bed, and walk".
What an exquisite example of the glory, power, and beauty of salvation. How many times can we read accounts like this, yet each time we come away more deeply impressed with the glory and power of Christ, andd the blessedness of eternal life in Him? When man fell, God said to Adam, "Dust thou art, and unto dust thou shalt return." Genesis 3:19. But thanks be to God that those whom God has appointed unto eternal life are not left in the dust.
I have read this passage and many in the Bible like it hundreds, if not thousands of times. Yet each and every time there is something new, something glorious to behold.
I am delighted to be to the point where I can take short, slow walks. On my most recent walk I thought my two year old daughter would be the perfect walking companion. She'll have no trouble keeping up, I thought.
It turned out I was the one having trouble keeping up. :-P
Having been in bed so much I have thought a lot about those bedridden folks who were privileged to have found themselves in the path of Christ the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.
We find one such example in Matthew 9.
" 1 And he entered into a ship, and passed over, and came into his own city. 2 And, behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy; Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee. 3 And, behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves, This man blasphemeth. 4 And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts? 5 For whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk? 6 But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house. 7 And he arose, and departed to his house. 8 But when the multitudes saw it, they marvelled, and glorified God, which had given such power unto men."
What a beautiful account of the saving power of the Gospel. Christ pronounces the crippled man's sins forgiven. As a confirming proof of His ability to forgive sins, Christ spoke and made the man physically whole, ordering him to "arise, take up thy bed, and walk".
What an exquisite example of the glory, power, and beauty of salvation. How many times can we read accounts like this, yet each time we come away more deeply impressed with the glory and power of Christ, andd the blessedness of eternal life in Him? When man fell, God said to Adam, "Dust thou art, and unto dust thou shalt return." Genesis 3:19. But thanks be to God that those whom God has appointed unto eternal life are not left in the dust.
I have read this passage and many in the Bible like it hundreds, if not thousands of times. Yet each and every time there is something new, something glorious to behold.
Friday, April 04, 2008
More Free Fatherly Advice
My eldest daughter Heather is living with and caring for her aged grandmother. One of the tasks Heather does not exactly relish is sorting and putting out the trash for recycling. The recycling there is only picked up every other week, and so it is also hard for her to remember when it needs to be done.
So, I thought I would help. Regarding the timing, I have a timer on my PDA which goes off to remind me to remind her that the big day is approaching. So I'll text message her to that effect.
To try take the edge off the unpleasantness of the chore, I have tried to word the text messages in some novel ways. Here is my text message to her from this morning:
To which she responded
Something tells me a bit more of the edge still needs to come off.
So, I thought I would help. Regarding the timing, I have a timer on my PDA which goes off to remind me to remind her that the big day is approaching. So I'll text message her to that effect.
To try take the edge off the unpleasantness of the chore, I have tried to word the text messages in some novel ways. Here is my text message to her from this morning:
It cometh, yea it goeth as well
In hues of green, amber, clear
Some black, and white, and read all over
It hath inexorably come
Now 'tis time to bid all
adieu.
To which she responded
Yet to this end, to which the stoic few
Have borne their burden all without a sound,
Whom shall attend?
For it doth weary me!
Something tells me a bit more of the edge still needs to come off.
Sunday, March 23, 2008
QnA in Text Message Land
Q: Can you resolve I Kings 11:4 and 11:6?
11:4 - "For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father."
11:6 - "And Solomon did evil in the sight of the Lord, and went not fully after the Lord, as did David his father."
Does verse 6 mean that Solomon, LIKE David, did evil in the sight of the Lord? Or does it mean that Solomon went not fully after the Lord, UNLIKE David his father?And, either way, what do these verses tell us about Solomon's and David's respective salvation? What difference between David and Solomon is being underscored here?
A: A biblical principle we have to keep in mind on questions like this is God looks at the true believers from two different vantage points. On the one hand, sometimes God looks at the true believers in their regenerate spiritual essence only. When He does this, he sees as as perfect and totally holy, which, in our spiritual essence we are in fact totally without sin. Looking at our spiritual essence, God says such things as
"Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God." 1 John 3:9
Yet, at times God also speaks of the true believers while taking into account our unregenerate physical bodies. This is why, in the very same epistle of First John, God says:
If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. 1 John 1:8-10
So, in one chapter we are perfect, and in another, we are sinners. Both are true, but are harmonized when we consider God is looking at us from the two vantage points described above.
God frequently will switch vantage points. For example, we read of Zacarias and wife Elizabeth in Luke 1:5-6
There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth. And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.
Here God clearly is looking at Zacarias and his wife as they are in their perfect, regenerate spiritual selves. Yet, starting in verse 18 of Luke 1, Zacarias does not trust God and is struck dumb by God because of it. Here God begins to deal with Zacarias taking into account his sinful nature (flesh) in conjunction with his regenerate spiritual nature.
So, in the verses you cite in 1 Kings, God is contrasting two men who the Bible identifies elsewhere as true believers. David is held forth as an example of righteousness, and Solomon is taken to task for his sinful departure from biblical morality in his old age. Reasons for this include God wanting to communicate his expectation that people will follow after the biblical morality of their parents. Another possible reason is to call attention to the fact that David is a type of Christ, Who is the true benchmark of all morality.
11:4 - "For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father."
11:6 - "And Solomon did evil in the sight of the Lord, and went not fully after the Lord, as did David his father."
Does verse 6 mean that Solomon, LIKE David, did evil in the sight of the Lord? Or does it mean that Solomon went not fully after the Lord, UNLIKE David his father?And, either way, what do these verses tell us about Solomon's and David's respective salvation? What difference between David and Solomon is being underscored here?
A: A biblical principle we have to keep in mind on questions like this is God looks at the true believers from two different vantage points. On the one hand, sometimes God looks at the true believers in their regenerate spiritual essence only. When He does this, he sees as as perfect and totally holy, which, in our spiritual essence we are in fact totally without sin. Looking at our spiritual essence, God says such things as
"Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God." 1 John 3:9
Yet, at times God also speaks of the true believers while taking into account our unregenerate physical bodies. This is why, in the very same epistle of First John, God says:
If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. 1 John 1:8-10
So, in one chapter we are perfect, and in another, we are sinners. Both are true, but are harmonized when we consider God is looking at us from the two vantage points described above.
God frequently will switch vantage points. For example, we read of Zacarias and wife Elizabeth in Luke 1:5-6
There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth. And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.
Here God clearly is looking at Zacarias and his wife as they are in their perfect, regenerate spiritual selves. Yet, starting in verse 18 of Luke 1, Zacarias does not trust God and is struck dumb by God because of it. Here God begins to deal with Zacarias taking into account his sinful nature (flesh) in conjunction with his regenerate spiritual nature.
So, in the verses you cite in 1 Kings, God is contrasting two men who the Bible identifies elsewhere as true believers. David is held forth as an example of righteousness, and Solomon is taken to task for his sinful departure from biblical morality in his old age. Reasons for this include God wanting to communicate his expectation that people will follow after the biblical morality of their parents. Another possible reason is to call attention to the fact that David is a type of Christ, Who is the true benchmark of all morality.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Not So Fast. Again.
Reposted from January, 2006, for reasons I shall endeavor to make clear shortly.
NOT SO FAST. AGAIN.
About a year after my first fasting boondoggle (see Sunday's post), I was ready to try it again. I was about to turn 21 years old. I had a lot figured out, I thought.
THIS TIME was going to be different. THIS TIME the awesome spiritual blessing was going to flow. THIS TIME, my ministry and spiritual life were going to get to the next level. So I thought.
Mindful of the virtual omnipresence of eating establishments in any sort of civilization, I figured I'd go where food would be pretty hard to come by, thus avoiding temptation. I had a friend drop me, a Bible, a sleeping bag, and a canteen of water at the one of the Brush Mountain hiking trails near Blacksburg, Virginia, where I was due to begin my junior year at Virginia Tech the following week. My plan was to spend a weekend in prayer and fasting, up in the mountains. Then, wow, surely the spiritual blessings would flow in. I wondered if my face might shine similarly to Moses' when he came down from Mount Sinai. I was psyched!
For the umpteeth time, my friend asked me if I was sure I wanted to do this. I assured him I did, and he drove off, probably shaking his head. Up the (rather small in height) mountain I went. Within a half an hour I was hiking along an undulating trail atop the ridge of Brush Mountain. I wanted to get to the remotest, most isolated spot I could find.
After a couple of miles I got to a pretty good-looking spot, and set up camp, eager to get into some serious Bible study. By the time I had camp set up, though, it was almost dark. It was impossible to read. Ah, but there was always prayer.
I was about to close my eyes to pray when from behind me I heard a youthful but robust, “Howdy, Mister!”
I turned to see three children, two boys and a girl. “Whatcha doin' up here?” the oldest boy queried.
I responded, “I am hiking the trail and camping. The question is, what are YOU doing way up here?”
”Oh we live right over yonder, in that there house!” the boy responded as he pointed through some brush. Sure enough, I could see a porch light. I had come to a remote place on the trail alright, right behind not one but three houses. My wilderness had just transmorgrified into suburbia.
My heart sank. It was almost dark.
”You know what you need, Mister?” (I wondered why he kept calling me “Mister”.)
”No – what?”
”Why, you need a RADIO! We's a-gonna go have some dinner, then we'll a-come on out here with our radio and a lantern, we can play some rock and roll, and you know, have some campfire stories or sump'n!”
This. Is. Awful. I thought to myself.
Off they went to have their dinner. I rolled up the sleeping bag, packed up what little stuff I had, and was about to head further down the trail, but by now the trail was getting very dark and it would be impossible to continue. So I decided find my way to a road and to head back to town.
The problem was, once I found the road (not far from the kids' house) I had only a vague idea which way town was. I figured I was southwest of town by ten or twelve miles, and so I headed off in what I thought might possibly be in a northeasterly direction. It was hard to tell, though, because now it was pitch dark and there was little or no moon. I figured as long as I could hike on a roadway I had a chance to make it back to town, SOME town anyway, by morning.
It was so dark, I could not even see the roadway. I tried to keep my feet on pavement, and tried to keep walking, by feel. I was amazed at how absolutely pitch dark it was. It was just inky blackness. Every once in a while I would amble off the side of the road, and I would have to feel my way back on.
After some time I guessed I had covered about two miles. The problem was, I was getting very tired, and I was, as nearly as I could tell, still out in the middle of absolutely nowhere. There were no street lights out there, and there were no country-house porch lights on as it was now past 1am.
Then, I heard it. A dog barking. He sounded like a German Shepherd or something. He was a big one judging by the throaty roar of his alarmed, enraged, I-am-going-to-kill-you-once-I-catch-you barking. He was running right toward me. I could hear his claws skip along the pavement. By the hostile tone and sheer deafening pitch of his barking, I felt sure he was going to tear me to shreds. He came up to within inches of me, and his barking doubled in both volume and speed. I could not see him in the pitch dark, but I sure could hear and feel him. Death. Gore. Slaughter was sure to ensue any second, I thought.
I stood there, stock still, and prayed as hard as I had ever prayed in my life, asking God to please calm this dog before he sank his fangs into my leg. I continued to stand stock still even through his hail of unceasing barking. I felt calm, even though this dog seemed to have nothing on his mind other than murder, mayhem, and dinner. In roughly that order.
In a calm, cheery, friendly voice, I said, “Well Hi, Mister Dog! How are you?” (At least I could call someone else “Mister” for a change).
The rage in his barking abated, albeit almost imperceptibly.
”My name is Ron, and I LOOOOOVE dogs!” I even smiled as I said it.
His barking slowed and muted a tiny bit more. Maybe, I thought, he would just settle for a modicum of carnage and mayhem, and then leave me in peace to quietly bleed to death.
I kept talking to him, pretending I had known him all my life. I told him about Heidi, my parents' dog. I told him about our cat who ran away when I was six. Good riddance! Who needs cats?
After several minutes of this, his barking gradually morphed into benign snuffling. I could feel his nose sniffing my legs and feet.
”Yes, yes, YES! I'm Ron, and I AM YOUR GOOOOOOD FRIEND!”
I reached out my hand, and found and patted him and stroked him on the head. I scratched him behind the ears. He loooooved that! He panted happily. I was now his best buddy! I could feel him vigorously wagging his tail. He felt like a Doberman.
After a few more minutes of soothing conversation, he apparently decided he was content to go back to his porch and go back to sleep.
I gave profound thanks to God for sparing my life. Or at least the flesh on my legs. Off I trudged into the inky blackness, feeling my way along the roadway with my feet. After another couple of miles, I began to see the faint glow of morning light. I could now see a bit. I was tired.
I came to a what appeared to be a fork in the road. As Yogi Berra would recommend, I “took it” -- meaning, I hopped a barbed-wire fence at the cusp of the fork and unrolled my sleeping bag down in a nice soft wheat field, and went to sleep. After two and a half hours of glorious sleep, I awoke shortly before 7am.
I looked around, trying to get oriented. The terrain was hilly, so I could not see the horizon or any landmarks. But judging by the position of the rising sun, I was glad to realize I had been basically heading in my desired northeasterly direction throughout my night of walking in the dark.
And then, I heard it. A car! Then saw it! A red one! And the guy behind the wheel does not look like an ax-murderer! I stuck my hand up, and he stopped. I told him I was lost and trying to get back to Blacksburg. I asked if he could he at least tell me if I was heading along the shortest way there. He said yes, and also offered me a ride, which I gratefully accepted. We were back in town within five minutes.
He let me off at a shopping center, and I walked back to the apartment I was staying in.
I began to realize some things. For one thing, I began to realize that prayer and Bible study are things that bring us spiritual blessing wherever we are. For another, I began to realize that we do not need to go to some mountaintop to have fellowship with God. For yet another, I began to realize afresh that the Christian life is not a few thunderbolts from Heaven, it is a daily walk in sweet communion with God, through prayer and His Word wherever we are.
I also realized I was hungry.
NOT SO FAST. AGAIN.
About a year after my first fasting boondoggle (see Sunday's post), I was ready to try it again. I was about to turn 21 years old. I had a lot figured out, I thought.
THIS TIME was going to be different. THIS TIME the awesome spiritual blessing was going to flow. THIS TIME, my ministry and spiritual life were going to get to the next level. So I thought.
Mindful of the virtual omnipresence of eating establishments in any sort of civilization, I figured I'd go where food would be pretty hard to come by, thus avoiding temptation. I had a friend drop me, a Bible, a sleeping bag, and a canteen of water at the one of the Brush Mountain hiking trails near Blacksburg, Virginia, where I was due to begin my junior year at Virginia Tech the following week. My plan was to spend a weekend in prayer and fasting, up in the mountains. Then, wow, surely the spiritual blessings would flow in. I wondered if my face might shine similarly to Moses' when he came down from Mount Sinai. I was psyched!
For the umpteeth time, my friend asked me if I was sure I wanted to do this. I assured him I did, and he drove off, probably shaking his head. Up the (rather small in height) mountain I went. Within a half an hour I was hiking along an undulating trail atop the ridge of Brush Mountain. I wanted to get to the remotest, most isolated spot I could find.
After a couple of miles I got to a pretty good-looking spot, and set up camp, eager to get into some serious Bible study. By the time I had camp set up, though, it was almost dark. It was impossible to read. Ah, but there was always prayer.
I was about to close my eyes to pray when from behind me I heard a youthful but robust, “Howdy, Mister!”
I turned to see three children, two boys and a girl. “Whatcha doin' up here?” the oldest boy queried.
I responded, “I am hiking the trail and camping. The question is, what are YOU doing way up here?”
”Oh we live right over yonder, in that there house!” the boy responded as he pointed through some brush. Sure enough, I could see a porch light. I had come to a remote place on the trail alright, right behind not one but three houses. My wilderness had just transmorgrified into suburbia.
My heart sank. It was almost dark.
”You know what you need, Mister?” (I wondered why he kept calling me “Mister”.)
”No – what?”
”Why, you need a RADIO! We's a-gonna go have some dinner, then we'll a-come on out here with our radio and a lantern, we can play some rock and roll, and you know, have some campfire stories or sump'n!”
This. Is. Awful. I thought to myself.
Off they went to have their dinner. I rolled up the sleeping bag, packed up what little stuff I had, and was about to head further down the trail, but by now the trail was getting very dark and it would be impossible to continue. So I decided find my way to a road and to head back to town.
The problem was, once I found the road (not far from the kids' house) I had only a vague idea which way town was. I figured I was southwest of town by ten or twelve miles, and so I headed off in what I thought might possibly be in a northeasterly direction. It was hard to tell, though, because now it was pitch dark and there was little or no moon. I figured as long as I could hike on a roadway I had a chance to make it back to town, SOME town anyway, by morning.
It was so dark, I could not even see the roadway. I tried to keep my feet on pavement, and tried to keep walking, by feel. I was amazed at how absolutely pitch dark it was. It was just inky blackness. Every once in a while I would amble off the side of the road, and I would have to feel my way back on.
After some time I guessed I had covered about two miles. The problem was, I was getting very tired, and I was, as nearly as I could tell, still out in the middle of absolutely nowhere. There were no street lights out there, and there were no country-house porch lights on as it was now past 1am.
Then, I heard it. A dog barking. He sounded like a German Shepherd or something. He was a big one judging by the throaty roar of his alarmed, enraged, I-am-going-to-kill-you-once-I-catch-you barking. He was running right toward me. I could hear his claws skip along the pavement. By the hostile tone and sheer deafening pitch of his barking, I felt sure he was going to tear me to shreds. He came up to within inches of me, and his barking doubled in both volume and speed. I could not see him in the pitch dark, but I sure could hear and feel him. Death. Gore. Slaughter was sure to ensue any second, I thought.
I stood there, stock still, and prayed as hard as I had ever prayed in my life, asking God to please calm this dog before he sank his fangs into my leg. I continued to stand stock still even through his hail of unceasing barking. I felt calm, even though this dog seemed to have nothing on his mind other than murder, mayhem, and dinner. In roughly that order.
In a calm, cheery, friendly voice, I said, “Well Hi, Mister Dog! How are you?” (At least I could call someone else “Mister” for a change).
The rage in his barking abated, albeit almost imperceptibly.
”My name is Ron, and I LOOOOOVE dogs!” I even smiled as I said it.
His barking slowed and muted a tiny bit more. Maybe, I thought, he would just settle for a modicum of carnage and mayhem, and then leave me in peace to quietly bleed to death.
I kept talking to him, pretending I had known him all my life. I told him about Heidi, my parents' dog. I told him about our cat who ran away when I was six. Good riddance! Who needs cats?
After several minutes of this, his barking gradually morphed into benign snuffling. I could feel his nose sniffing my legs and feet.
”Yes, yes, YES! I'm Ron, and I AM YOUR GOOOOOOD FRIEND!”
I reached out my hand, and found and patted him and stroked him on the head. I scratched him behind the ears. He loooooved that! He panted happily. I was now his best buddy! I could feel him vigorously wagging his tail. He felt like a Doberman.
After a few more minutes of soothing conversation, he apparently decided he was content to go back to his porch and go back to sleep.
I gave profound thanks to God for sparing my life. Or at least the flesh on my legs. Off I trudged into the inky blackness, feeling my way along the roadway with my feet. After another couple of miles, I began to see the faint glow of morning light. I could now see a bit. I was tired.
I came to a what appeared to be a fork in the road. As Yogi Berra would recommend, I “took it” -- meaning, I hopped a barbed-wire fence at the cusp of the fork and unrolled my sleeping bag down in a nice soft wheat field, and went to sleep. After two and a half hours of glorious sleep, I awoke shortly before 7am.
I looked around, trying to get oriented. The terrain was hilly, so I could not see the horizon or any landmarks. But judging by the position of the rising sun, I was glad to realize I had been basically heading in my desired northeasterly direction throughout my night of walking in the dark.
And then, I heard it. A car! Then saw it! A red one! And the guy behind the wheel does not look like an ax-murderer! I stuck my hand up, and he stopped. I told him I was lost and trying to get back to Blacksburg. I asked if he could he at least tell me if I was heading along the shortest way there. He said yes, and also offered me a ride, which I gratefully accepted. We were back in town within five minutes.
He let me off at a shopping center, and I walked back to the apartment I was staying in.
I began to realize some things. For one thing, I began to realize that prayer and Bible study are things that bring us spiritual blessing wherever we are. For another, I began to realize that we do not need to go to some mountaintop to have fellowship with God. For yet another, I began to realize afresh that the Christian life is not a few thunderbolts from Heaven, it is a daily walk in sweet communion with God, through prayer and His Word wherever we are.
I also realized I was hungry.
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Re-studying some things...
In recent months I have been re-examining a number of Scriptural doctrines I have held with deep and strong conviction now for thirty or more years. This is not an easy thing to do.
It is not easy, for one thing, because it is hard work. It is hard spiritual (and physical, at least mental) work, which must be done in the face of a myriad of crushing earthly demands on ones time and energy.
It is not easy, for another thing, because it is hard to come to the Bible without an agenda and without bias, both borne out of advocating and contending for these doctrines all these decades. It is easy in this regard, to fall into a pattern of going to the Bible to just confirm my presuppositions.
But I believe that we live in a day in which the "little book" (greek, biblion) of Revelation 10 is being opened. That is, I believe God is opening grand and dreadful truths to our understanding from the Bible; truths which he had sealed away from the understanding of previous generations. This is new revelation; not new revelation in the sense that additional written or spoken words are being added to the Bible, but new revelation in the sense that God is opening our understanding to truths that have been in the Bible all along. These truths, if corroborated, harmonized, and thus validated with all the Bible teaches have the potential to cause a paradigm-shift in some of our previous understandings. Such a paradigm-shift might, on the surface, might seem radical, but in the final analysis, if found true, to be tantamount to "seeing every man clearly"; our previous understandings the equivalent of "seeing men as trees, walking" (Matthew 8:24-25).
So let each one of us go to the Bible with the prayer that God would open the biblion, in all Christ's truth and fidelity, to each one of us.
It is not easy, for one thing, because it is hard work. It is hard spiritual (and physical, at least mental) work, which must be done in the face of a myriad of crushing earthly demands on ones time and energy.
It is not easy, for another thing, because it is hard to come to the Bible without an agenda and without bias, both borne out of advocating and contending for these doctrines all these decades. It is easy in this regard, to fall into a pattern of going to the Bible to just confirm my presuppositions.
But I believe that we live in a day in which the "little book" (greek, biblion) of Revelation 10 is being opened. That is, I believe God is opening grand and dreadful truths to our understanding from the Bible; truths which he had sealed away from the understanding of previous generations. This is new revelation; not new revelation in the sense that additional written or spoken words are being added to the Bible, but new revelation in the sense that God is opening our understanding to truths that have been in the Bible all along. These truths, if corroborated, harmonized, and thus validated with all the Bible teaches have the potential to cause a paradigm-shift in some of our previous understandings. Such a paradigm-shift might, on the surface, might seem radical, but in the final analysis, if found true, to be tantamount to "seeing every man clearly"; our previous understandings the equivalent of "seeing men as trees, walking" (Matthew 8:24-25).
So let each one of us go to the Bible with the prayer that God would open the biblion, in all Christ's truth and fidelity, to each one of us.
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Ebed-Melech - part 4
There are two outstanding characteristics Ebedmelech demonstrates that we'll note. First is Ebedmelech's compassion. Jeremiah's lot was most desperate.
" And in the dungeon there was no water, but mire: so Jeremiah sunk in the mire." Jer 38:6
"Jeremiah 38:7-9 Now when Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, one of the eunuchs which was in the king's house, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the dungeon; the king then sitting in the gate of Benjamin; Ebedmelech went forth out of the king's house, and spake to the king, saying, My lord the king, these men have done evil in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet, whom they have cast into the dungeon; and he is like to die for hunger in the place where he is: for there is no more bread in the city." Jeremiah 38:7-9
Note Ebedmelech did not just throw up his hands and say, "Well, things are bad for Jeremiah, but look, it is bad all around. Our city is about to be taken. Times are bad. Too bad for Jeremiah." No, Ebedmelech had compassion on Jeremiah, conpassion which impelled him to action. Action which incurred mortal risk.
So the True Believer of today recognizes that his fellow man is in a pit, that is, under the wrath of God. The true believer knows his fellow man has no spiritual food or drink. He lacks the spiritual water, of the Gospel. Unsaved man lacks the Bread of Life. The true bekliver is gripped with conmpassion for his fellow man.
So Ebedmelech is impelled to action.
But we should also note Ebedmelech's COURAGE. He was impelled to take action on Jeremiah's behalf which all logic would dictate would result in Ebedmelech's death. Jeremiah had a death sentence on him, which is why he was in the dungeon ion the first place. Ebedmelech intervenes on Jeremiah's behalf which should have resulted in Ebedmelech ending up where Jeremiah was; sinking into the mud of the dungeon and dying a slow agonizing death of thirst and starvation.
Ebedmelech rebukes the evil of Zedekiah's men in placing Jeremiah in the dungeon in verse 9. *That, too* well could have resulted in Ebedmelech's summary execution. And Ebedmelech actually coordinated Jeremiahs release out of the dungeon and into the prison court, which could easily have incurred the deadly wrath of Jeremiah's accusers.
So this is a necessary attribute of the true believer of today. He is willing to give his life in service of his saviour. Being a true believer in Christ is this day and age, just as in Jeremiah's day, is a very lonely and solitary business. Not many, if any will be willing to stand with you.
The big requirement for being able to follow through on one's resolve to follow Christ to the death is to be born again. "Ye must be born again" John 3:7. And if you are born again, you WILL stand, even in the face of persection and even death.
" And in the dungeon there was no water, but mire: so Jeremiah sunk in the mire." Jer 38:6
"Jeremiah 38:7-9 Now when Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, one of the eunuchs which was in the king's house, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the dungeon; the king then sitting in the gate of Benjamin; Ebedmelech went forth out of the king's house, and spake to the king, saying, My lord the king, these men have done evil in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet, whom they have cast into the dungeon; and he is like to die for hunger in the place where he is: for there is no more bread in the city." Jeremiah 38:7-9
Note Ebedmelech did not just throw up his hands and say, "Well, things are bad for Jeremiah, but look, it is bad all around. Our city is about to be taken. Times are bad. Too bad for Jeremiah." No, Ebedmelech had compassion on Jeremiah, conpassion which impelled him to action. Action which incurred mortal risk.
So the True Believer of today recognizes that his fellow man is in a pit, that is, under the wrath of God. The true believer knows his fellow man has no spiritual food or drink. He lacks the spiritual water, of the Gospel. Unsaved man lacks the Bread of Life. The true bekliver is gripped with conmpassion for his fellow man.
So Ebedmelech is impelled to action.
But we should also note Ebedmelech's COURAGE. He was impelled to take action on Jeremiah's behalf which all logic would dictate would result in Ebedmelech's death. Jeremiah had a death sentence on him, which is why he was in the dungeon ion the first place. Ebedmelech intervenes on Jeremiah's behalf which should have resulted in Ebedmelech ending up where Jeremiah was; sinking into the mud of the dungeon and dying a slow agonizing death of thirst and starvation.
Ebedmelech rebukes the evil of Zedekiah's men in placing Jeremiah in the dungeon in verse 9. *That, too* well could have resulted in Ebedmelech's summary execution. And Ebedmelech actually coordinated Jeremiahs release out of the dungeon and into the prison court, which could easily have incurred the deadly wrath of Jeremiah's accusers.
So this is a necessary attribute of the true believer of today. He is willing to give his life in service of his saviour. Being a true believer in Christ is this day and age, just as in Jeremiah's day, is a very lonely and solitary business. Not many, if any will be willing to stand with you.
The big requirement for being able to follow through on one's resolve to follow Christ to the death is to be born again. "Ye must be born again" John 3:7. And if you are born again, you WILL stand, even in the face of persection and even death.
Ebed-Melech - part 3
Continued from a previous post...
Jeremiah 38:7-9 Now when Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, one of the eunuchs which was in the king's house, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the dungeon; the king then sitting in the gate of Benjamin; Ebedmelech went forth out of the king's house, and spake to the king, saying, My lord the king, these men have done evil in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet, whom they have cast into the dungeon; and he is like to die for hunger in the place where he is: for there is no more bread in the city.
"Ebedmelech" - in Hebrew, this name means "servant of the King". Thus, Ebedmelech is a type of the true believers in Christ. Remember that Paul, in the New Testmant, referred to himself over and over again as a "servant" of slave of Jesus Christ. [Ron's note: is this MY conscious identity as well?]
"the Ethiopian" - even in the Old Testament, God did not restrict his salvation plan to National Israel, even though it was chiefly identified with that nation. Here Ebedmelech is an Ethiopian, yet he is saved. God's salvation goes to every nation, tongue, tribe and language today. God is not a respecter of persons. Remember the other Ethiopian eunuch of the Bible, recorded in Acts
8:26-40.
Jeremiah 38:7-9 Now when Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, one of the eunuchs which was in the king's house, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the dungeon; the king then sitting in the gate of Benjamin; Ebedmelech went forth out of the king's house, and spake to the king, saying, My lord the king, these men have done evil in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet, whom they have cast into the dungeon; and he is like to die for hunger in the place where he is: for there is no more bread in the city.
"Ebedmelech" - in Hebrew, this name means "servant of the King". Thus, Ebedmelech is a type of the true believers in Christ. Remember that Paul, in the New Testmant, referred to himself over and over again as a "servant" of slave of Jesus Christ. [Ron's note: is this MY conscious identity as well?]
"the Ethiopian" - even in the Old Testament, God did not restrict his salvation plan to National Israel, even though it was chiefly identified with that nation. Here Ebedmelech is an Ethiopian, yet he is saved. God's salvation goes to every nation, tongue, tribe and language today. God is not a respecter of persons. Remember the other Ethiopian eunuch of the Bible, recorded in Acts
8:26-40.
Ebed-Melech - part 2
Continued from previous post...
The historical context of Jeremiah 38 is the waning days of a besieged Jerusalem just prior to the destruction of the city by the Babylonians in 587 BC.
Recall the history of Israel. After Solomon's death Israel was divided. In 931 BC the division between the Northern ten tribes, collectively referred to as "Israel", and the southern Kingdom of Judah, composed of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. The Northern Kingdom of Israel was apostate from its very beginning. Israel was presided over by a series of twenty kings, and all of those kings were exceedingly wicked. The Southern Kingdom of Judah, on the other hand, while far from perfect, did have some good kings, and in its history did enjoy some times of relative faithfulness to the Lord.
God continually warned the Northern Kingdom to repent of its evil and turn to God. They did not, and were eventually destroyed by God using the instrumentality of the Assyrians in 722 BC. The Southern Kingdom of Judah would also succumb to the apostasy of its sister Kingdom to the north, and came under God's hand of destruction in 587 BC. This account of Ebed-Melech takes place just prior to 587 BC, when the siege had waxed sore, and the residents of Jerusalem were reduced to the desperation, deprivation, and starvation inherent in sieges; even to eating their own children.
We, the professing true believers of today must heed the warning that, while we do have the great privilege of being ambassadors of the Word, we also must be acutely aware that should we depart from faithfulness to God and to the message of the Bible, we, too would come under the wrath of God.
Jeremiah was left in Jerusalem by God to testify against the kingdom, and to report to us the goings-on there. Jeremiah, for his testimony, came under great persecution, to the point of being cast into a dungeon, under the immenent threat of death from starvation, thirst, or exposure at the hands of the palace of Zedekiah, as we read in Jeremiah 38:1-6:
1 Then Shephatiah the son of Mattan, and Gedaliah the son of Pashur, and Jucal the son of Shelemiah, and Pashur the son of Malchiah, heard the words that Jeremiah had spoken unto all the people, saying, 2 Thus saith the LORD, He that remaineth in this city shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence: but he that goeth forth to the Chaldeans shall live; for he shall have his life for a prey, and shall live. 3 Thus saith the LORD, This city shall surely be given into the hand of the king of Babylon's army, which shall take it. 4 Therefore the princes said unto the king, We beseech thee, let this man be put to death: for thus he weakeneth the hands of the men of war that remain in this city, and the hands of all the people, in speaking such words unto them: for this man seeketh not the welfare of this people, but the hurt. 5 Then Zedekiah the king said, Behold, he is in your hand: for the king is not he that can do any thing against you. 6 Then took they Jeremiah, and cast him into the dungeon of Malchiah the son of Hammelech, that was in the court of the prison: and they let down Jeremiah with cords. And in the dungeon there was no water, but mire: so Jeremiah sunk in the mire.
The historical context of Jeremiah 38 is the waning days of a besieged Jerusalem just prior to the destruction of the city by the Babylonians in 587 BC.
Recall the history of Israel. After Solomon's death Israel was divided. In 931 BC the division between the Northern ten tribes, collectively referred to as "Israel", and the southern Kingdom of Judah, composed of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. The Northern Kingdom of Israel was apostate from its very beginning. Israel was presided over by a series of twenty kings, and all of those kings were exceedingly wicked. The Southern Kingdom of Judah, on the other hand, while far from perfect, did have some good kings, and in its history did enjoy some times of relative faithfulness to the Lord.
God continually warned the Northern Kingdom to repent of its evil and turn to God. They did not, and were eventually destroyed by God using the instrumentality of the Assyrians in 722 BC. The Southern Kingdom of Judah would also succumb to the apostasy of its sister Kingdom to the north, and came under God's hand of destruction in 587 BC. This account of Ebed-Melech takes place just prior to 587 BC, when the siege had waxed sore, and the residents of Jerusalem were reduced to the desperation, deprivation, and starvation inherent in sieges; even to eating their own children.
We, the professing true believers of today must heed the warning that, while we do have the great privilege of being ambassadors of the Word, we also must be acutely aware that should we depart from faithfulness to God and to the message of the Bible, we, too would come under the wrath of God.
Jeremiah was left in Jerusalem by God to testify against the kingdom, and to report to us the goings-on there. Jeremiah, for his testimony, came under great persecution, to the point of being cast into a dungeon, under the immenent threat of death from starvation, thirst, or exposure at the hands of the palace of Zedekiah, as we read in Jeremiah 38:1-6:
1 Then Shephatiah the son of Mattan, and Gedaliah the son of Pashur, and Jucal the son of Shelemiah, and Pashur the son of Malchiah, heard the words that Jeremiah had spoken unto all the people, saying, 2 Thus saith the LORD, He that remaineth in this city shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence: but he that goeth forth to the Chaldeans shall live; for he shall have his life for a prey, and shall live. 3 Thus saith the LORD, This city shall surely be given into the hand of the king of Babylon's army, which shall take it. 4 Therefore the princes said unto the king, We beseech thee, let this man be put to death: for thus he weakeneth the hands of the men of war that remain in this city, and the hands of all the people, in speaking such words unto them: for this man seeketh not the welfare of this people, but the hurt. 5 Then Zedekiah the king said, Behold, he is in your hand: for the king is not he that can do any thing against you. 6 Then took they Jeremiah, and cast him into the dungeon of Malchiah the son of Hammelech, that was in the court of the prison: and they let down Jeremiah with cords. And in the dungeon there was no water, but mire: so Jeremiah sunk in the mire.
Ebed-Melech part 1
I listened to this study again today. I had heard it before and recalled it was an excellent study so I wanted to review it again. Here are my notes from the study. I have included some additional thoughts of my own, which are identified as such by means of bracks ([]). Feel free to copy my notes and modify/augment if you wish.
We read in Jeremiah 38:7-13:
7 Now when Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, one of the eunuchs which was in the king's house, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the dungeon; the king then sitting in the gate of Benjamin; 8 Ebedmelech went forth out of the king's house, and spake to the king, saying, 9 My lord the king, these men have done evil in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet, whom they have cast into the dungeon; and he is like to die for hunger in the place where he is: for there is no more bread in the city. 10 Then the king commanded Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, saying, Take from hence thirty men with thee, and take up Jeremiah the prophet out of the dungeon, before he die. 11 So Ebedmelech took the men with him, and went into the house of the king under the treasury, and took thence old cast clouts and old rotten rags, and let them down by cords into the dungeon to Jeremiah. 12 And Ebedmelech the Ethiopian said unto Jeremiah, Put now these old cast clouts and rotten rags under thine armholes under the cords. And Jeremiah did so. 13 So they drew up Jeremiah with cords, and took him up out of the dungeon: and Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison.
To be continued in next post.
We read in Jeremiah 38:7-13:
7 Now when Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, one of the eunuchs which was in the king's house, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the dungeon; the king then sitting in the gate of Benjamin; 8 Ebedmelech went forth out of the king's house, and spake to the king, saying, 9 My lord the king, these men have done evil in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet, whom they have cast into the dungeon; and he is like to die for hunger in the place where he is: for there is no more bread in the city. 10 Then the king commanded Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, saying, Take from hence thirty men with thee, and take up Jeremiah the prophet out of the dungeon, before he die. 11 So Ebedmelech took the men with him, and went into the house of the king under the treasury, and took thence old cast clouts and old rotten rags, and let them down by cords into the dungeon to Jeremiah. 12 And Ebedmelech the Ethiopian said unto Jeremiah, Put now these old cast clouts and rotten rags under thine armholes under the cords. And Jeremiah did so. 13 So they drew up Jeremiah with cords, and took him up out of the dungeon: and Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison.
To be continued in next post.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Saturday, February 09, 2008
Hmmm...
Today (Saturday) I sat around loafing on the couch while two of my sons were doing the brakes on one of my cars.
I don't feel guilty. (well, not very.)
Am I a bad parent?
Friday, February 08, 2008
Well, Now that I am on a "Handel's Messiah" Kick...
This is simply dazzling:
I have (somewhere) the VHS tape of this entire performance of Messiah. The program was produced, I believe, in 1983.
I have (somewhere) the VHS tape of this entire performance of Messiah. The program was produced, I believe, in 1983.
Wednesday, February 06, 2008
Musically, Though...
Musically, (not spiritually) the video below of the Hallelujah Chorus left a bit to be desired.
The tempo was a bit fast, and the style was a bit too martial. Yes, this work needs to be performed with the appropriate grandeur, but it also needs to flow. It needs to live. It needs to breathe. The Chorus is what it is, it needs no veneer.
Also, when performed by professionals, as it was in the video, the singers approach it as a professional job, while the audience member looks for some personal connection to the truths of the work on the part of the performers. Or at least some sense wonderment on their part. There is little if any to be found here. I guess though I have digressed into spiritual analysis. That is hard to avoid with any part of Handel's Messiah.
However, none of this prevented the sheer beauty of the voices from shining through. The tenors, especially on the buildup of For the Lord God Omnipotent Reigneth were just, were just, -- oh, words fail so miserably at times like this -- heart-meltingly magnificent. The sopranos soared supremely, especially on The kingdom of this world is become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ.
The glory of this most beautiful piece of music ever written cannot be completely obscured by mans devices or failings.
The tempo was a bit fast, and the style was a bit too martial. Yes, this work needs to be performed with the appropriate grandeur, but it also needs to flow. It needs to live. It needs to breathe. The Chorus is what it is, it needs no veneer.
Also, when performed by professionals, as it was in the video, the singers approach it as a professional job, while the audience member looks for some personal connection to the truths of the work on the part of the performers. Or at least some sense wonderment on their part. There is little if any to be found here. I guess though I have digressed into spiritual analysis. That is hard to avoid with any part of Handel's Messiah.
However, none of this prevented the sheer beauty of the voices from shining through. The tenors, especially on the buildup of For the Lord God Omnipotent Reigneth were just, were just, -- oh, words fail so miserably at times like this -- heart-meltingly magnificent. The sopranos soared supremely, especially on The kingdom of this world is become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ.
The glory of this most beautiful piece of music ever written cannot be completely obscured by mans devices or failings.
Friday, January 18, 2008
Sunday, January 13, 2008
I should add ...
to my previous post that this reminds us that word studies alone do not always lead us to the whole truth. If the grammar of the verse in the translation is not correct, then word studies will of course shed light on individual words but we will still miss the overall meaning of the verse, and end up thinking the verse says something it does not in fact say.
Unfortunately checking the translation of a verse is not usually very easy. This is because analytical concordances (hardbound or computer programs) do not give visibility into the part of speech. It simply gives a Strongs number that corresponds to the most general form of a word. For example, a reference of "he runneth", "you run", or "they run" will all give the same Strongs number -- for the verb "to run". This visibility is not always sufficient.
An interlinear can be very helpful. But we still need to be careful even with this tool. When I was checking out Zechariah 14:6 in my interlinear, it had "precious ones" listed as Strongs# 6918. It is actually Strongs# 3368. When I cross-checked 3368 against 1 Kings 5:17 to verify it was indeed the plural form, I found that the verses in the interlinear's english baseline for 1 Kings 5 in my interlinear were misnumbered.
Unfortunately checking the translation of a verse is not usually very easy. This is because analytical concordances (hardbound or computer programs) do not give visibility into the part of speech. It simply gives a Strongs number that corresponds to the most general form of a word. For example, a reference of "he runneth", "you run", or "they run" will all give the same Strongs number -- for the verb "to run". This visibility is not always sufficient.
An interlinear can be very helpful. But we still need to be careful even with this tool. When I was checking out Zechariah 14:6 in my interlinear, it had "precious ones" listed as Strongs# 6918. It is actually Strongs# 3368. When I cross-checked 3368 against 1 Kings 5:17 to verify it was indeed the plural form, I found that the verses in the interlinear's english baseline for 1 Kings 5 in my interlinear were misnumbered.
Upon Further Review
I double-checked the Hebrew very closely, and I am now even more convinced that my grammatical analysis of Zechariah 14:6 is correct. The Hebrew of the verse says,
"And it shall be in that day, there shall not be light; the precious [ones] shall thicken (or congeal, or settle out)"
The word "light" is a singular noun. The word "precious" is plural, not singular. The verb "thicken" is plural. Thus "precious" agrees grammatically with "precious ones"; and the singular "light" agrees with "there shall not be".
"And it shall be in that day, there shall not be light; the precious [ones] shall thicken (or congeal, or settle out)"
The word "light" is a singular noun. The word "precious" is plural, not singular. The verb "thicken" is plural. Thus "precious" agrees grammatically with "precious ones"; and the singular "light" agrees with "there shall not be".
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